


Warmth

by Sylvermage



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Gen, Jade loves his sister dammit, Young Jade, Young Nephry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 18:38:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13932924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylvermage/pseuds/Sylvermage
Summary: It's hard to sleep when the old orphanage furnace breaks down again...but not for Jade. Jade could do everything.





	Warmth

Nighttime in Keterburg was cruel. Barely a kilometer from the tourist hamlet the lights and cheerful noises of the town faded into feral blackness, where monsters lurked in drifts and gullies, and the natural beauty of the mountains and wide-open plains that drew so many to this part of the world became unforgiving frozen wasteland. The natives of the resort town had made their peace with these dangers and respected them well enough to ward themselves against the mountain’s unpredictable nature and the vicious winds of the snow fields. Those who visited for fun and pleasure weren’t stupid enough to venture out beyond the safety of the town limits…although the local residents still enjoyed recounting stories of rich fools who challenged their region’s wilderness and were never heard of again. 

In one of the quieter, more subtle sections of the town, the furnace had broken down again in the small snow-town orphanage, turning it into little more than a house-sized refrigerator. In the single sleeping room, the children shuddered in their various stages of sleep, huddling under woolen blankets to block out the cold drafts nipped maliciously at exposed arms and legs in imitation of the frozen mountain winds that howled at the gates. 

Only one child seemed unbothered by the frigid temperature. In the most vacant corner of the room, ten-year-old Jade Balfour continued to sleep on unconcernedly. With a halo of fine brown hair splayed across the patchwork pillow and the scrutinizing expression relaxed into something akin to peacefulness, the indifferent attitude that hovered around him like an electric current seemed to fade. In sleep the devil-child of Keterburg appeared almost human…though that still wasn’t enough to convince any of the other children to sleep within four feet of him. 

Save one. 

The low groan of metal broke the silent atmosphere, followed almost immediately by shuffling feet across the cold hardwood floor and the sound of bedsprings being depressed. Without opening his eyes, Jade let out a resigned sigh. 

“What is it, Nephry?” 

Seated on the edge of her brother’s narrow cot, little Nephry Balfour carried a worn green blanket around her shoulders, with the black-haired head of her favorite doll just visible from beneath her chin. “…’m cold, Jade.” 

“…The furnace is broken again. They’ll fix it in the morning.” He rolled over so his back was to her. “Go back to sleep.” 

“I can’t. ’m _cold_.” After a moment’s consideration, she added, “Aren’t you?” 

“No.” 

She waited the appropriate three seconds to see if he would add anything else before demanding, “Why not?” 

“I’m circulating the fifth fonons in my body.” 

Nephry knew her fonons well enough. Jade had started teaching her before she’d even begun school. Having little bits of fire running up and down your body sounded like it would hurt…but not for Jade. Jade could do everything. “Can I do that?” 

“Maybe. With practice.” 

“Teach me.” 

The small noise that escaped her brother might have passed for a laugh. “Nephry, it’s the middle of the night.” 

“An’ it’s **_cold_**.” The girl’s voice had taken on a decided whine that Jade had long ago learned to heed as a prelude to an even more annoying temper tantrum. With another sigh, he rolled over and opened his eyes, ruby gaze gleaming in the darkness, and lifted the edge of his blanket. 

“Come here.” 

Jade never had to tell Nephry to do anything twice. Without hesitation, the little girl crawled in beside her brother, blanket, doll and all. As he replaced the blanket, she could immediately feel the difference: Jade’s body, and the area around him, was warm. She gave a pleased hum and squirmed a little closer so she could tuck herself beneath his chin, her doll squished between them. 

_“Now_ will you go to sleep?” Jade asked irritably. He needn’t have bothered. His sister was out in minutes. Belatedly, Jade realized he had one arm trapped under her head, which he couldn’t move without threatening to wake her. Instead, he drew her closer to him in effort to prevent his arm from falling asleep. 

From this angle, he could see that her hair was still bound up in her favorite red ribbon and knew that by morning, the fine strands would become irreversibly tangled in the knot, leading to an irksome bout of distress from Nephry when he tried to take it out. Nephry obeyed Jade to the letter…but she was still only six, and hadn’t quite outgrown the dramatics of that age. With his free hand he began to gently work the knot loose, freeing the hair that was already clinging obstinately to the folds of the ribbon. He would have to start reminding her to take her hair down before falling into bed. 

At last, the stubborn material gave way and he pulled it free, Nephry’s hair falling down around her face. His sister barely stirred, her breathing steady as he brushed the hair out of her face to keep it from tickling her and waking her again. It was hard enough to put her to bed once. He had no desire to do it a third time. 

Sometime during the exchange, Nephry had let go of the doll pressed into his chest and had wrapped a hand into his nightshirt instead, her head resting more on his shoulder than on the pillow. Resettling the blanket over the two of them, he supposed it might be worth the effort to teach her this trick--six-year-old girls were old enough to sleep in their _own_ beds throughout the night.


End file.
